TWENTY-FOUR

We all gasped or at least I think we all did. I was much too focused on the video to take note of everyone's reaction, but I was certain that everyone did because my gasp alone could not have been that loud.

The masked man moved to the side to give us a better view of what he had just done. The bullet hole at the middle of the girl's head was hard to miss. He had actually shot her and she was actually dead.

That could be Kim, Kim might actually be dead.

The whimpering of the two girls in the video was drowned out by the whimpering that had ensued in the room, accompanied by silent prayers and muffled screams.

“Bring me my three point five million or I drop the other two.” the masked man growled. “You have less than twenty-four hours.”

The video was over, but for a few more minutes we were all still crowded around Avril's father, too terrified and grieved to move a muscle, until Detective Daniel walked in.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.